Serbian Bishops Back Russian Patriarch on Ukraine
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| . Photo: EPA/ |
Serbian Orthodox Church Patriarch Irinej and Montenegrin Bishop Amfilohije have publicly supported the stance of Russian Church, against that of the Patriarch of Constantinople, over independence, or autocephaly, for the Orthodox Church in Ukraine.
After Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople said it was time to move towards granting autocephaly for the Ukrainian Church from Moscow, Serbia’s Church leader accused him of promoting a schism.
“I see the latest announcement of the Holy Synod of the Constantinople Patriarchate as a move leading to schism, and … it directly and unequivocally opens up the possibility – almost emphasizes – new breakthroughs for other churches,” the Serbian Patriarch told Vecernje Novosti daily.
He said the decision went against Orthodox Church unity. “This decision could lead to new schisms not only for the Serbian Orthodox Church but for all Orthodox Churches, even the Greek one,” he said on Tuesday.
On October 11, the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople said that it would now proceed towards granting independence, or autocephaly, to the Church in Ukraine, which is currently divided into various factions, some loyal to Moscow and others to the self-proclaimed Patriarch of Ukraine in Kiev.
Churches in the Balkans have remained silent about the decision, which has infuriated the Russian Church, which still claims Ukraine as part of its territory.
The decision could encourage demands for recognition of the independence of Orthodox churches in other countries of former Yugoslavia, such as Macedonia and Montenegro.
The Orthodox Church in Macedonia unilaterally proclaimed autocephaly from the Serbian Church in 1967 and remains unrecognised.
Montenegrin Bishop Amfilohije called the decision ”non-canonical”.
“We in the Serbian Church were defeated by the fact that the Ecumenical Patriarch … made such a decision, which is, without a doubt, a non-canonical one,” he said in an interview with the Russian First Channel on Tuesday.
Amfilohije’s reaction reflects also a fear that Constantinople might now acknowledge another breakaway church, the Montenegrin Orthodox Church.
Suppressed after Montenegro lost its independence after World War 1, it was refounded in 1993 and has regained some influence since the country declared independence in 2006.
The Russian Church, meanwhile, has other problems, besides Ukraine, in Moldova.
Russian Patriarch Kirill has announced he will visit four cities in Moldova from October 25-28, as the Russian Church seeks to maintain its spiritual control over the country, which a rival pro-Romanian Church is challenging.
Moldova’s pro-Russian President, Igor Dodon, has said that he will soon present an initiative to hold a pan-Orthodox Council on the territory of Moldova.
Moldovan believers are divided between the Moldovan Orthodox Church, which is a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and its younger rival, the Orthodox Church of Bessarabia (the historic Romanian name for Moldova), which is subordinate to the Romanian Church.
Read more:
Russian Patriarch Visits Moldova to Cement Bond with Church
Ukraine Church Independence Leaves Balkan Churches Lost for Words
